Tripe Sandwich Inspired by Lampredotto

April 10, 2015

When I was on vacation in Florence last year, I heard about this tripe sandwich called Lampredotto that the city was known for and I was really excited to try it. The sandwich is street food and mostly served from carts, and my sister had been in the city for 4 months already, so she asked around to her local friends about which one was the best to try. We went to a cart called Lupen e Margo that was near the main food market in the city and amongst all the outdoor leather vendors. The way you order it is “with everything” meaning you want some hot sauce, salsa verde, and salt and pepper along with the boiled meat. The sandwich was good, but it didn’t have a ton of flavor other than a lot of tripe in between two pieces of bread. Not just any tripe either, lampredotto is made from the 4th and final stomach of the cow, that isn't really used in most other parts of the world. Since my family wasn’t as game to eat it as I was, by the time I got towards the end it was starting to gross me out a little. Despite these drawbacks, I still really liked the sandwich and wanted to make a version at home that was inspired by the original, but a little more palatable for me.

The first change that I made was using the first stomach of the cow instead of the fourth. It is called Rumen or Blanket Tripe. When you get this tripe from most stores, it has been cleaned and bleached thoroughly. Thing is that it has sort of a bleachy smell to it that you need to get rid of. Rinse it off really really well first, then repeat. Put it into a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Strain and rinse again.

Then cut it into strips.

Now get it all into a pot with some flavorful liquids. I used a couple cloves of garlic, a little beef stock, red wine vinegar, habaneros, anchovy, and worcestershire sauce.

While the tripe simmered, I made the salsa verde. The salsa verde is parsley, basil, scallion, anchovy, capers, and olive oil. I wasn’t going to put a hot sauce on the sandwich because some heat was built in to the meat.

When the meat is nice and tender, strain it out, but keep the liquid.

Meanwhile, toast the bread and rub it with some garlic.

Tripe in a pan for a quick sear.

After it browns up a little, ladle in some of the stock. After it reduced for a minute or two, it forms a nice sauce.

This sandwich is GOOD!

It tasted like tripe, but not like you are getting punched in the face with it.

A nice kick from the habaneros, and a fresh vibrancy from the salsa verde.

The toasted bread and sear on the tripe added some much needed texture that the sandwich in Florence was lacking.